Sporting Southern Indiana

Team Manager Guide

The following is information and useful tips to help team managers administer team business throughout the course of the season. If a topic or question is not addressed on this page, managers should contact the administrator for their age group, the vice-president, or the club president for guidance.

Overview

The primary function of the team manager is to serve as the administrative arm of the team and to be the team's representative with the club. The manager will serve as the team contact with the Sporting SI Board of Directors, attend club meetings, oversee the team financials (these duties could be shared with another team parent), facilitate communication with the players’ families regarding all team business, work with the club registrar to register the team with Indiana Youth Soccer, enter the team in, and help coordinate, competitions for the team, secure lodging when the team travels, coordinate the team's duties and responsibilities for the Sporting SI Classic tournament, and coordinate other team functions as needed. A manager's duties run from the point they are selected by their team to be manager through the tryout sessions at the end of the season.

Registering Your Team With Indiana Youth Soccer

All Sporting SI teams are sanctioned by Indiana Youth Soccer. One of the first steps managers need to take each season is working with the club registrar to register their team with Indiana Youth Soccer to obtain player cards and sanctioning form the state for play in the upcoming season. Once a team is set after tryouts (or the majority of the roster is set) submit player information to the club registrar, who is the conduit between the club and the state. The registrar will provide managers with the necessary tools to submit their roster.

Rosters and Player Cards

Team rosters and player cards are documents issued by Indiana Youth Soccer that provide proof that a team and its players are properly registered with the state for that season.

Once a team submits their roster to the state through the club registrar, the state will process the roster and produce the team's official roster and a player card for each player. They will send the roster and cards back to the club registrar electronically. The club registrar will provide these documents for the manager to use throughout the season. Before use of the player cards and roster there are a couple of tasks that need to be completed.

First, managers should make 15 - 20 copies of the roster, then store the original in a safe place. The copies will be used at tournaments and other competitions that require a copy. Some require multiple copies. Never give out the original roster, just a copy.

Next, the manager will need to finish processing the player cards. Player cards will need to be printed in color on cardstock (usually done by the club registrar for each manager). The player cards will need to be cut out and laminated. Keeping the laminated player cards on a loose leaf binder ring is recommended.

Out of State Players

If you have players on your team from out of state, you must get a release from the state they reside. Once you get the approval, you need to send the paperwork to the Indiana Soccer offices for your team to be approved. Without your players release from their home state, your team will not be approved and the roster and cards will not be released to us. Please contact the Club Registrar for assistance or with questions. Below are links to the Illinois and Kentucky Youth Soccer web sites for information and forms for players from those states

Insurance

Once players are registered with the state, secondary medical insurance, through the state is in effect for events sanctioned by Indiana Soccer. (This is explained in further detail below). This includes practice locations. For any location your team uses for training, the club must have a Certificate of Liability on file. A list of locations that the club has obtained the Certificate of Liability for use by our teams is at the top right of this page. You may click on any of these to download and print a copy should you need to present it to the facility you plan to use. If you wish to use a location other than one listed, contact a member of the club board so one can be obtained for that location.

Medical Releases

Each player/parent must complete a medical release form (download and print a copy here). The manager should keep the release forms for all players with them at all times. The medical releases contain critical medical information for players and are important to have should a medical issue arise. In addition, most tournaments require medical releases to be presented as a condition of playing in their event. While not required, it is advisable that two forms be completed for each player, one that is kept by the manager and a second that can be kept by the coach. This would give the coach access to medical information for players should the manager be unavailable.

Birth Certificates

Managers should keep a copy of each player's birth certificate with them at all times as well. Most tournaments will require teams to present birth certificates for all players as a condition of entry. They will also be used as proof of birth date when players are registered with the state.

Insurance Cards

While not required, a copy of each player's family medical insurance card can be very useful in the event of medical emergency when a player's parents are not available. A copy of the insurance card can be kept with the medical release document.

Team Finances

Each team manager, working with the team's families and coaches, must establish a written team budget for the season and make that budget available for any team parents or club officials at any time. The expenses for a season include both club fees and team fees. The club fees will be paid online and will be used for player registration costs, coaching salaries, facilities, administrative costs, and other club expenses. Team fees will be paid to the team manager to be used for indoor practice facilities, tournaments, league play, and coaching stipends and hotel costs when traveling. Various other miscellaneous expenses may be incurred by teams throughout the season and must also be taken into account. Uniforms are not included in team or club fees. Families will order uniforms online and pay for those items at the time of purchase to our club uniform vendor.

What You Must Take To A Tournament

When attending a tournament managers should have the following items in order and available to them throughout the tournament. (It is recommended that you keep a binder with all of the pertinent player and team information for quick reference.)

1. Player cards, including for guest players. 2. Medical release forms, including for guest players. 3. Several copies of the team roster. Some tournaments will ask only for one copy, some will take multiple copies. NEVER give them the original!

If the tournament is out of state...

4. A copy of the tournament's Permission to Host. 5. The team's travel permit.

Note that each tournament and state has it's own requirements that must be met and forms that must be completed. Be sure to check with the individual tournament regarding form requirements for their events..

Travel Permits

Travel permits are documents that show a team is properly registered and in good standing with Indiana Youth Soccer, the team is covered by insurance, and playing in the appropriate age group. Travel permits are required for any tournament or event, including friendly games, outside of the state of Indiana. The only exception is sanctioned league play - Indiana Soccer League, Midwest and Great Lakes Conference, etc. If a team is traveling out of state for friendly games the host should secure a Permission to Host from their state which will allow the visiting team to obtain a travel permit from Indiana Soccer. Visit the Indiana Soccer site for directions for requesting a travel permit.

Indiana Soccer does not sanction travel to US Club Soccer events, therefore travel permits from Indiana Youth Soccer are not required. Please note that Indiana Youth Soccer insurance and other member benefits are not in effect when teams attend US Club Soccer events. See the US Club Soccer web site for information regarding participation in tournaments and events sanctioned by US Club Soccer. There are options for obtaining insurance for US Club Soccer events and teams should secure this insurance when attending US Club events. In addition, the club asks that managers of teams playing in events not sanctioned by US Youth Soccer have their player's parents sign off on a waiver stating that they are aware that the insurance is not in effect for that event. Managers should see their division vice president or a board member for details and a form.

Permission to Host Forms

Before participating in an out of state tournament, you must obtain a travel permit from Indiana Youth Soccer. If the tournament is a Got Soccer event you will simply need to request the eTravel form. However, if the tournament is not a Got Soccer even you will need to obtain the tournament's Permission to Host document and upload it when requesting the eTravel form. The Permission to Host is a document which verifies that the tournament is sanctioned by US Youth Soccer and the host tournament's home state. The document should have the host state's stamp and official signatures. Tournaments provide this with their application mailings or on their web site. You do not need a travel permit for any event in Indiana.

Caution! Do not attend a tournament or out of state event (other than Indiana Soccer League play) that does not provide this document, or without a travel permit, even if it is just for one game. You must have a travel permit in order for the US Youth Soccer insurance coverage to be in effect.

Some tournaments will not be sanctioned by US Youth Soccer, rather they will be sanctioned by US Club Soccer. If you attend an event sanctioned by US Club Soccer the US Youth Soccer insurance will not be in effect. However you may purchase one-time event insurance through US Club Soccer. Visit US Club Soccer for details on the process for purchasing this insurance.

Guest Players

Teams will occasionally be short players due to conflicts or other reasons and need to ask players from other teams to play with them. If a team has a need to use players from another team, the coach or manager will need to do the following:

1. Get permission from the player's coach beforeapproaching the player. 2. If the player is guest playing at a tournament you will need to get their player card, medical release form , and birth certificate from their team manager.

Most tournaments limit the number of guest players any one team may add to their roster for the tournament. If you plan to have multiple guest players, be sure to check the tournament rules for the maximum number allowed.

Some tournaments will also have a separate form that you have to submit which lists the guest players you are bringing. Again, check with the tournament to see if this is required

Tryouts

One of the final duties for the team manager each season is to assist the board in administering tryouts for their age group for the next season. The travel soccer season runs August 1 through July 31 each year. During the month of June every Sporting SI team will conduct open tryouts for the next seasonal year (note that existing players that wish to return to the team must also tryout again). Managers are encouraged to promote their tryouts but must follow all Indiana Soccer guidelines regarding tryout promotion and may not engage in any illegal player recruitment activities. The board will help guide all managers in this regard and rules governing tryouts and recruiting may be found on the Indiana Youth Soccer web site. It is advised that managers reacquaint themselves with these rules every year as they could be modified from season to season.

Certificates of Liability

2016 -2017 Certificates of Liability Insurance Forms that you will need for non-club facilities.